BIKE: Re: Monorail opens in Vegas

[Michael Bluejay]

Sure, $3/trip seems high, but remember what the market is like:  The 
bus that travels the same route costs $2.  And it's slower.

I'm not sure I agree that public transit has to be profitable.  If 
taxes pay for roads, then taxes can certainly subsidize rail -- no 
matter what the flavor.

I may be going to Vegas soon, and if so then you can expect a complete 
report about the monorail vs. the new alleged BRT.

-MBJ-


On Jul 19, 2004, at 5:24 PM, Mike Dahmus wrote:

> The first obviously difficult thing about the LV monorail is its cost 
> - $3, initially for a one-way ride ($5.50 initially for a round-trip, 
> $5.75 eventually). Cheapest option for locals appears to be the 
> 10-ride pass ($20), which brings you down to $4/round-trip.
>
> http://www.lvmonorail.com/ride_01_gettickets.php
>
> As I stated a long time ago, you can charge these kinds of rates when 
> a lot of your traffic is tourists whose alternative is cabs. You can't 
> charge this kind of rate and expect to attract very many automobile 
> drivers, though. (If this route was longer, it'd have a better shot - 
> $2/trip is high for the distance this system covers).
>
> So the claim that LV is going to be the new model for urban transit 
> because it will generate a profit is not true - even if it does 
> generate a profit, it's doing so at a rate schedule which is not 
> feasible for other cities.
>
> - MD
>
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